Department of Health and Social Care

Correction to Update on Measles Statement

Lord Markham: This Written Ministerial Statement is made to correct a small error in the previous version, published on 22 January 2024.My Hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy) (Maria Caulfield) has made the following Written Statement:I wish to update the House on an increase in measles cases across England and the actions that the Government and health system are taking to control the disease’s spread.The Current Measles OutbreakFollowing an increase in measles cases across England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) raised its incident response level to a National Standard Incident on 8 January 2024. There are three categories of incident: routine, standard and enhanced.In 2023, there was an increase in confirmed measles cases, statistics which the UKHSA publishes monthly. As of 18 January 2024, there have been 216 confirmed cases in the West Midlands since 1 October 2023. NHS figures show that around 3.4 million children under the age of 16 years are not fully vaccinated and may be at risk of catching this serious and completely preventable disease. In response to this and the slow decline in measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake, the NHS carried out catch-up efforts in 2023, contacting parents and carers of unvaccinated children aged 5 and younger. This resulted in a 10% increase in MMR vaccine uptake compared to the previous year.Measles is a highly infectious illness that can easily be spread between unvaccinated people. Complications from measles can be potentially life changing including blindness, deafness and swelling of the brain (encephalitis).Analysis shows that one infected child in a classroom can infect up to nine other unvaccinated children, making it one of the most infectious diseases worldwide; and more infectious than COVID-19. One in five children with measles will need to be admitted to a hospital for treatment – which could put additional pressure on the NHS.Measles is not just a childhood disease and can be serious at any age. If caught during pregnancy it can be very serious causing stillbirth, miscarriage and low birth weight.Actions Underway to Protect the PublicMeasles is a vaccine preventable disease, with long lasting immunity provided through the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. 95% of the population must be vaccinated to provide sufficient population immunity. In some parts of the country, vaccination levels are below this threshold, allowing measles to spread rapidly through communities.Data shows that the MMR vaccine is safe and very effective. After 2 doses:around 99% of people will be protected against measles and rubellaaround 88% of people will be protected against mumpsTwo doses of the safe and effective MMR vaccine are needed for maximum life-long protection, with the first dose given around the child’s first birthday and the second dose given at around 3 years and 4 months old. However, anyone can catch up at any age on any missed doses. It is never too late to protect yourself, and everyone eligible for the MMR vaccination who has not yet taken up the offer should get vaccinated.To support increasing the uptake of the MMR vaccine, NHS England announced on Friday 19 January a catch-up campaign from February for missed MMR vaccines as part of a major new drive to protect children from becoming seriously unwell as measles continues to rise across the country. The campaign:Will be targeted at parents and carers of unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children aged 6 to 11 encouraging them to make an appointment with their child’s GP practice for their missed MMR vaccine.Builds on the work already done to contact parents of children aged 0 to 5 for vaccination – a campaign which saw a 10% increase in the number of MMR vaccinations compared to the previous year with two million texts, emails and letters sent to parents between September 2022 and February 2023.Will target places with low uptake of the vaccine. Initial priority areas are London and the West Midlands, with the NHS acting quickly to contact almost 1 million more people, including parents and carers of those aged 6 to 18 and young people aged 18 to 25 years-old to invite them to catch up on their missed MMR vaccinations.People who are unvaccinated can get catch-up jabs at MMR pop-ups in schools and other convenient places including GP surgeries, asylum hotels and libraries.GPs, teachers, and trusted community leaders are encouraging groups less likely to get their jab to come forward. NHS England, UKHSA and local health partners are also working together to deliver immunisation programmes tailored to the needs of under-vaccinated communities. For example, in the West Midlands, MMR pop-up clinics are running in outbreak settings, and whole-school vaccination campaigns will be run in areas with the highest number of at-risk individuals. GP practices are also being supported to improve MMR uptake through convenient, tailored appointments and proactive conversations with concerned parents.Longer-term actionsThe recently published NHS Vaccine strategy builds on the success of the NHS’s world-leading COVID-19 vaccine programme when local teams found innovative ways to reach people during the pandemic. It reflects views sought from a wide range of stakeholders and delivery partners, including the public, those who work in our health services, community and charity leaders, and colleagues in local government. This strategy will maximise convenience with more vaccination services at locations that the public can easily access, such as libraries, leisure centres, social clubs or sports grounds, family hubs, support services and places of worship, or at local cultural and community events; with flexible opening hours; and booking options.Parents and carers can find out more about the different vaccines their child should have and when by visiting www.nhs.uk and searching for ‘NHS vaccinations and when to have them’.It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations they are entitled to. The MMR vaccine is highly effective, safe and the best way to prevent the spread of measles and to protect children from becoming seriously unwell from this disease.

Department for Transport

Fishers’ medicals

Lord Davies of Gower: The Secretary of State for Transport is today announcing an exemption for fishers from the requirement to hold medical certification for those individuals who currently work on fishing vessels of 10 metres and under in length. This new measure is a sensible and proportionate step that balances our obligation to protect the health of fishers with ensuring they can continue to earn a living in the industry in which some have worked for their entire adult lives. We are pleased to have worked with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this as a further signal of our united commitment to support the UK’s vital fishing industry.It is right to seek to ease the regulatory burden on fishers already working on smaller vessels given that they are the most likely to be self-employed or small businesses. An existing fisher is someone who was working on a UK-registered fishing vessel of 10 metres and under for 4 weeks or more during the period 30 November 2021 to 29 November 2023. The exemption will apply to fishing vessels registered in any part of the United Kingdom and will take immediate effect. The requirement for medical certification for fishers joining the industry in the future and for fishers on boats over 10 metres in length will continue to apply.I will place copies of the Government’s response to the recent public consultation on this matter and the relevant Merchant Shipping Notice in the Library of the House. These are also available on www.gov.uk.